Questioning yourself

Done today: research

Revision remaining: 46,313 words (entire book)

Daily words needed to be finished by end of November: 842

I started my revision today, but only got as far as researching.

Research is a very necessary part of the writing process — guru Robert McKee says research is the key to overcoming writers block — and research is useful at all times. Anytime you’re not sure about something, research it until you’re comfortable.

But this morning, as I was researching a certain aspect of the book, I started questioning myself. Which way should I go? Should it be option a), option b)? Is it necessary at all? Does it add to the story? If so, how?

It was enough to drive me nuts.

I think the reason I’m questioning myself is because I’ve been away from the story for a few weeks. It was a good break, giving me a distance that will help me be more objective in my revision, but it also has allowed those nasty doubts to wriggle their way into my head.

Maybe I should get back into the story with some text revision then go back to the research I have to do.

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Definitely in this battle right now, too. I paused my re-write to evaluate the first half of my manuscript – I felt like I was starting to wander aimlessly into the dreaded middle part of the story. Re-reading was a great thing to do, and I’m glad I did it. Now, though, I have so many ideas (a much better problem than no ideas, I must say) and it’s hard to figure out just which one to go with. Sometimes it’s hard to step back and try to re-imagine what you’re already used to, but in my experience changing things has only helped. Best of luck on your revisions! 🙂